Pumping mechanism



y 1932' YJ. OLIPHANT I 57,393

PUMPING MECHANI SM Original Filed March 24, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 WET GRINDER HOUSE M/6 HOUSE AUTOMATIC ITC CLAY SLIP AIR AIR COMPRESSOR P 153067321071" M07272 Uzi 197201222 aii'ozw y.

4 Sheets-:Sheet 2 J OLIPHANT PUMPING MECHANISM Original Filed March 24, 1924 May 10, 1932.

I May 10', QLIPHANT 1,857,393

PUMPING MECHANISM Ofiginal Filed March 24., 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 v 152 0672 Zbr: (707272 OZipfianZ Qflbrnegy.

Patented May 10, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT. orrica Joinv oLIrnAnr, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, Ass-reno n T0 sULLIvAn MACHINERY com rniv-xnconronerioiv or MASSACHUSETTS j PUMPING MECHANISM Orig-inalapplication filed March 24, 1924, Serial No. 701,569; Divided and this application filedmarch 12, 1925. Serial No. 15,695. Renewed November 10, 193i).

My invention relates to -pumping mechanisms, and more particularly to pumping mechanisms especiallyadapted: to use in cement making plants or other places where similar conditions are met.

In the making of cement the general process gone through consists in mixing ground lime stone withwater, adding to this mixture clay, thoroughly mixing the same, passing themizrture through a-wet grinder, and then causing it to passthrough a kiln where the heat dr'ves out the moisture and forms clink are which are-ground with potash as the final operation. It is obvious that it is highly important to the production of the best quality' ofcement that the mixtures at the various points-in the process be uniform and this desideratum can only be secured by stirring the mixture in some manner. t will also be evident that thee'conomicalproduction of the cement will be greatly facilitated if the amount 0t liquid usedtocarry along the solid matterbe kept at a minimum. It has been found in practice that the stirring can be very advantageously accomplished by means of spiders located at the bottom of suitable vats and discharging jets of air through numerous openings so that the thick fluid mixture or slurry is thoroughly stirred. It will be obvious that ina process such as has been described, the mixture 'oi' solid and liquid must be handled. by some type of pumps a number ot'timesand according to previous systems, where mechanical pumping devices were used, it was found that the specific gravity'oi? the mixture could not be increased above a certain limit, or inother wordsthat there was a certain minimum quantity of liquid per unit of solids wh chhad to be employed and moreover, when the verydesin.

able aeratingsystem ofmixing wasemployed' the pumps frequently lost their suctions so that difficulty was experienced in keeping the system in uniform operation.

My invention has for its object the provi sion of an lmproved; pumping system which is especially adaptedgto processes of the type" described, which permits thehandlin'g of'a mixture otli quid and solid oi considerably higher-specific gravitythan was poss'ible by any previous pumping system and which instead of: being hinderedin its etfectivenessby the process of aeration used in maintaining the mixture uni form, its in. very desirably nth tlns system and results in a considerable savin or power. therob1ects and advan tages of my invention will hereinafter more J j displacement. tanks and theircontrolling .mechanism'used in such a system.

Fig. 3 is a. plan view showing-e the same mechanism together with additional piping used. y y y p Fig. 4 is a detail, partially in elevation and partially in section showing one of the automatic check valves used. in the system.

Fig. '5 is a central vertical sectional view througha portion of the controlling mechanism.

Fig. 6- is a cetralsectional view through one of the check valves. 7 p

Fig. '7 is a view; partially inside elevation and-partially in central vertical section through a trap or separator.

Fig. Sis a sectionon a plane correspond- ;ingto line 8-8 of Fig. 7

valve mechanism forming a part of thepilot mechanism. e V

. Fig. 13 1s a another detail view.

This application is a division of my co pending application filed Mar. 24, 1924', Sen.

In the system shown in Fig; 1. there Will d II into a wet grinder, so designated in Fig.

1, from which it is discharged by gravity after grinding into vat IV. From this a third pair of displacement pumps V takes it and discharges it into .the storage vats VI through any suitable system of distribution piping, permitting the liquid to be distributed to any one of a number of vats which may be selected. From these storage vats two more sets of displacement pumps VII and VIII take the fluid mixture and discharge it into a kiln, either of these sets of pumps being operative or both working together as may be desired. It is to be understood that pairs of displacement pumps are used so that a more continuous process may be accomplished, one displacement tank or pump discharging while the other is filling and vice versa'. It will be understood that in the draw ings the aerating system for mixing the contents of the various vats has not been shown as this is itself not my invention, but it will be understood that means is provided and forms a part of the plant whereby the contents of the vats are stirred by the admission of jets of air which is preferably supplied through rotating spiders.

Now considering the pumping system in greater detail, it will be observed that a come pressor 1 is shown discharging air to a receiver 2. From the receiver a line 8 leads ofi which is the pressure line and this pressure line extends adjacent to each one of the several displacement pumping outfits I, III,

V, VII, and VIII. A arallel pipe line i which constitutes the suction pipe line is similarly extended and leads through a trap or separator 5 to the suetionside of the compressor, suitable automatic air inlet means 6 being'provided to admit air to the compressor at such times as the pressure in the suction line is below a predetermined subatmospheric pressure. It is to be observed, however, that with this system, after the system has once been placed in operation the automatic air inlet practically never operates and there may be a surplus of air for use elsewhere. The reason for this will herein-v after appear.

A; timing switch generally designated 7' and which is the invention in its form illustrated ofone VVa-de H. IVineinan, and which constitutes an improvement upon a similar mechanism invented by one David III-Iunter,

alternately'connects a pair of lines 8 and 9 with the pipe lines 3 and 4 through connections 10 and 11. The construction of this timing mechanism, while per se constituting no part of my invention, will be more fully explained hereafter, but for the present it will be sufiicient to state that it includes automatically operating means for supplying pressure to the pipe 8 while connecting the pipe 9 to the suction side of the compressor or vice versa.

Now observing the mechanism so far described in greater detail before proceeding to a further description of the features of the system, it will be noted that the trap or separator 5, which may obviously assume other forms, therein comprises a vertically disposed casing whose interior is divided tiroughout the greater portion of its length into two chambers which do not communicate with each other except adjacent the bottom, this division being effected by a septum 16 extending diametrically in the casing and contacting at its upper end with the cover 17 of the casing. At the bottom of the casing 15 there is arranged an outwardly opening check valve 18. It will be noted that when the pressure within the trap or separator is less than atmospheric, this valve will be held closed unless there be a considerable pressure due to high liquid level tending to force it open, a condition not likely to occur in practice. In the normal operation of the system there is at intervals a considerable quantity of air under pressure discharged into the line a from the tanks which have been emptied and during'such periods as the pressure in the The various pumping units I, III, V, VII,

and VIII'are all substantially alike and accordingly the description of one will suflice for all. "Noting particularly Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and '6, in which one ofthese units is shown,

together with certain of the details of its construction, it will be observed that each unit comprises a pair of tanks, herein vertical tanks 20 and 21. At opposite sides of each tank there are arranged check valve housings 22 and 523 of which one is an inlet check valve and the other a discharge valve. The internal construction of these valves may be observed from Fig. 6 from which it will be noted:

that they each comprise a casing 24 provided with a septum 25 on which is mounted a seat portion 26 upon which'a ball 27 is adapted to seat. Connections 28 are provided for the admission of jets of air to the casings to clean them out in the event that they tend to be-.

come choked or clogged. Noting Figs. 2 and 3. again it will be observed thatfrom the line e and 21 there are arranged float check valve mechanisms each comprising a casing 52 111' will be moved in an opposite direction.

3, a pipe connection leads 0a" which is tapped by a piping system including four pipes 31, 32, 33, and 34 which are suitably valve controlled and which in the cases. of

pipes 32 and 34 serve for the supply of fluid to the blow out connections 28 while the pipes 31 and 33 which are also valved serve to conduct fluid to blow out the bottom of the tanks at suitable times so as to prevent the bottom oi the tanks becoming filled with sedument or precipitated solidmatter. Mounted above the tanks and between them is a pilot valve mechanism generally designated.

35 and comprising pilot valve mechanism proper 36 and a servo-motor 37 therefor. Noting Fig. 5, it will be observed that the pilot valve mechanism 36 includes a'valve chest in which a seat 39 is formed, upon which seat a valve i0 is movable, this valve being i of the D slide valve type, but having opening through its bottom adjacent the opposite ends thereof a U-shaped port or passageway 41.

The line 30 leadine from the 3i e 3 ofenscommunicates into a chamber 42 which through a port ad with thechamber in which the valve is reciprocable. A port 45 opening through the seat leads to a pipe 46 which is connected as shown in Fig. 3 with the suction line 4. A pair of ports 4:? and i8 also traverse the valve seat at opposite sides of the port 45 and these communicate respectively with pipes 49 and 50. Betweenthe pipes 49 and 50 and their respective tanks which a float 53 is uided, this float carrying at its top a hemisphere 54 adapted to cooperate with a valve seat 55 and prevent the fluid in the tanks from passing into the lines a9 and 50 while the latter are connected to suction. The valve 40 is actuated by a valve stem connected thereto and also connected to a piston 61 reciprocable in a cylindrical bore 62 formed in a member 63 supported. by a partition 6 dividing a casing 65 lIllZO two chambers, numbered respectively 66 and 67. The chambers 66 and 67 are connected by lines 68 and 69 respectively to the lines 9 and 8. It will be observed that manually adjustable valves 70 and 71 are arranged in the lines 68 and 69 and that a manually ad-I justable valve 72 is arranged in the line 30.,

As a result of this construction it will beobserved that when the line 8 is connected to the line 3 and the line 9 connected to the line contain liquids to such depths as to prevent the possibility of air directly blowing through from one side to the other of the piston 61.

* When the pi ston'fil is moved to the left, fluid pressure, herein air, will pass through the and so economy in air consumed will result:

from the bypassing of: air under: pressure from the emptytankto thetankfwhich. is: about to-beeinptied. It will be observed! fromFig. 10 the lower portion of the figure,

that the pilot valve mechanisms for the pumps I, III, V,.VII and VIII, which are in that figure designated respectively I, III, V, VII and VIII, are all: arranged in such manner that the lines 3 and at are alternately connected to the opposite sides of thepiston. 61 in each of theseveralpilot valve mechanisms at once. For the purpose of preventing one of the tanks from emptying more rapidlythan the other, it will be obvious that it is readily possible by adjustingthe valve 72' lJOCOIltlfOlftht-E rate of fluid supply to the individual valve mechanismsthrough. which air is distributed to the tanks of movemento? the pistons 61 may be controlled in such manner astoprovide. the des red P riods i of 'intercomm'unication.f between. the tanks ofeach series.

The construction and the mode of operation of the main pilot switchmay'now be described,although as stated above, this: particular mechanism per ,se is not my personal invention. I It will be noted that the lines 8 and 9 are connected to'a valve chest 7 4, herein.

ed alternately to connect the ports '78'and79 with the port and the valve 84: with its outer edge controls the communications of chambers 75 and 76 with the supply of pump ing fluid whichenters the chest through portSQ. The valve 84is provided a bypass passage. 86which is adapted in mid-position of the valve as shown in Fig. 12 to interconnect the ports 78 and" T9 and so to permit equalization; of pressure in the lines 8 and 9 as the valve shifts its position, thereby effecting afurther economy in air. The valve 84 is provided with a, valve stem 87 having an annular groove 88 therein with which the extremity of a lever 89 cooperates on actuation of the latter, in a manner whichvwi-H shortly be deandby adjustin the valves'ZO and 71 the rate v hue scribed. The valve chest 74 is supported on a base plate 90 upon which there are arranged in parallel relation to each other a pair of cylinders 91 and 92. Within the cylinder 91 a piston 93 is reciprocable. This piston at its upper end carries a relatively heavy weight 94 which aids inreturning the piston 93 to'the bottom of the cylinder 91. Movable with the piston 93 is across head 95 to which v a piston rod 96 is connected and at the lower end of this piston rod is a piston 97 which is reciprocable in the cylinder 92. The cylinder 92 is filled with oil nearly to its top and communicating with the bore of the cylinder at points spaced above and below the mid position of the piston 97 is a bypass 98 which is controlled by a stop valve 99. It will be evident that the stop valve 99 if nearly closed will render the movement of the piston rela tively quite slow during mid -travel while if it be opened to a considerable extent fairly rapid movement of the piston 97 will be permitted. Other valve controlled bypasses 100 and'101 communicate with the bore of the cylinder 92 respectively near the top of the latter and at a,v point somewhat below the upper' communication with the cylinder bore of the bypass 98, and at a point adjacent the bottom of thecylinder and at a point somewhat above the lower communica tion of the bypass 98. The "function of these lastmentioned bypasses 100 and 101 which are respectively controlled by valves 102 and 103 is to vary the rate of movement of the valve 84, the bypass98 and the valve 99, ex-

ries a pair of spaced nuts 113 which engage the'opposite sides of an operating lever114 and move the same when the rod 110 is moved. The 'lever114 is. a bell crank lever and the lever arm 89 previously referred to constitutes one arm thereof; The bell crank lever 114 is journaled in bearings 115. The lever 114 also carries therewith a flat relatively broad projection 116 at whose opposite sides there are arranged bosses 116 carrying screws 117 which project towards each other and are adapted alternately to engage the arm 118 of a bellcranklever 119 which is pivoted on a stub shaft 120 projecting from a bearing supporting mem'ber'121upon which the other bearing-115 is also carried. bell crank lever 119 at its upper end carries a. weight 122 oscillating with the hell crank lever 119 and herein cast integral therewith.

' In alinement with the weight carrying portion thereof is a leverportion 124 whose low- The r er extremity is adapted alternately to engage the end 125 of a valve member 126 or a collar 127 which is rigidly carried onthe stem 128 of the valve 126. A pin 129 is arranged to sure reducing valve 131 is supplied with air from the compressor discharge line and communicates with the valve chest 132 in which the valve 126 is reciprocable by way of a port 133. A passage 134 also communicates with the valve chest at a spaced point and this passage leads at 135 to the bottom of the interior of the cylinder 91. The valve 126 is of the two spool type having spools 137 and 138 spaced by an intermediate groove 139. The spool 137 is proportioned so that in one position of the valve it lies to the right of the passage134, while in the other position it lies wholly to the left of this passage. As a result, in one extreme position of the valve 126 the inlet port 133 is connected to the port 134 by the groove 139 while in the other extreme position the port 134 opens to the atmosphere. By adjustment of the pressure reducing valve 131 the air supply beneath the piston 93 may be regulated and so the time of upward movement of the piston'varied. It will be observed that by adjusting the reducing valve 131 and the choke valve 99 the speeds of the upward and downward movements of the piston 97 may be varied almost as desired.

7 From the foregoing description the mode of operation of this main pilot switch and the timing mechanism will be readily apparent. It will be noted that the piston 93 is moving upward. As soon as it has moved sufficiently far for the lever 114 to cause the screw 117 to tilt the lever 118 to such an extent that the weight 122 passes through its vertical position the lever 119 will be swung sharply to its extreme right hand position and as a result the position of the valve 126 will be changed and the cylinder 91 vented, whereupon the weight 94'will cause the parts to begin to move downward. It will be observed that before this reversal of'the movement takes place, the lever 114 will have been moved to such an extent that the arm 89 will have shoved the valve 84 so far to the left that the passage 78 and with it the line 9 will have been connected to the suction line 4 through pipe 11 while the port 79 and with it the line 8 will be connected with the supply of live pressure fluid from line 3 through pipe and port 82. During 'a' substantial part of the downward movement of the pistons 93 and 97 the valve 84 will remain stationary, the duration of this stationary period being controllable by the adjustment of the valve 99, but as the pistonsnear their lowermost position the cross head 95 will engage the nut 111 and shift the lever 11 in the; opposite direction which will gradually move the valve sharp reversal of the position of the valve 126.- As the passagesB and!) are alternately connected to -':the supply line 3 and tothe suction line tthroug'h the pipes 1:0 and it will be observed that each of the pistons -61 will be moved successively in oppositedirections, resulting in :reversals inposition of the valves 40; and by reason of the constructionof these valve :and'their valve chests,'it will be ob- .served' thatbetween the'iperiods'of filling and emptying of the individual tanks -and'21 ofeach of theipiumping units, the re will take place a period of inter'communication between the emptyand :full tanks, so that there charge-of liquid that is received and this air will tend to be separated during thefilling period of the :tanks byrreason ofzthe factthat these tanks are thenunder a partial vacuum. Accordingly, the slurry moving system will not have to take in new air-through the automatic relief valve 6, but will generally during normal operation of {the system 'be provicled with an adequate quantity oithis entrained air to maintain the system filled despite :anyordinary leakage It will be obthen it would be necessary to prime the pumps-in some manner. It is also to be noted, and this is a most important feature, that a liquid of a very substantially greater degree of viscosity can be handled than by any other type of pumping'system and accordingly a very great saving in the amount of coal, oil or other fuel that has to be used in heating the kilns is accomplished. It has been noted that all danger of the carrying over into the suction line of the slurry is minimized by the use of the check valves 54, while any access of slurry to the compressor cylinder is moreover absolutely precluded by theautomatic separator and drain trap 5. It will be observed that in connection with the pumping system described, means is provided for blowing out the check valve chambers and stirring up the contents of the displacement tanks at suitable intervals so as to prevent their becoming clogged by the solid matter settling out of the solution. From this it will be 'dedu'ced'that Ihave provided'a pumpin g mechanism especiallyadapt'ed to usewith mixtures of liquid and solid which are stirred byxaeration to keep the solid :lIl suspension and to effect a proper mixing of the constituents and that JI have provided a pumping system which irrespective of the method of mixing employed is capable of handling a ,mixture of liquid and solid of greater viscosity than any other known type of pumping system..

To summarize briefly some of the improved features, of this mechanism, it is to .be observed that there are no moving parts working in contact with the material to be handled except the inlet and discharge valves. This isobviously a considerableadvantage ascompared with centrifugal pumps, for example, where; the blades would wear due to the action of the material pumped upon them and would be an even greater advantage over cylinder and piston type pumps where the wear would tend to be even greater. As a result, there is a sustained efiiciency with my improved mechanism not secured with other methods of pumping. A further improvement resides vin the fact that the various pumping units areall handled from a central prime mover, namely, the compressor,

while the capacity of each is controlled-by an air valve adjacent thereto. In other "words, there is no need for a separate operating motor for each pumpingunit with a separate control individual thereto. It has been pointed'out that the slurry handled by-these pumping units is constantly aerated during the stirring processes in the tanks. By-reason f the fact that a considerable quantity of this airtends to remain in the fluid material handled there would be considerable difiiculty due to loss of suction, etc., were either the centrifugal or reciprocating types of pumps used. No trouble, how-ever, is encountered with the present mechanism and in fact the presence of thisair is in nowise disadvantageous tothe operation ofthe-entire system. i v

'VVhile I- have in'this application specifically described one form which'my invention What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a pair of displacement tanks, a compressor, pressure and suction lines" respectively connected with the discharge and intake of said compressor, valve means for'connect-ing one of said lines toone of said tanks, and the other to the-other and vice versa, and atrap betweensaid tankszand viaid compressor in said suction line provided with means for automatically venting the same on each reversal of the connection to said tanks.

2. In a displacement pumping system, a plurality of displacement pumping units, means for subjecting a portion of said units to pressure and the remainder to suction and vice versa including a fluid supply line and a suction line, means for precluding passage of liquid from said units to said suction line, a compressor discharging to said fluid supply line and having its intake connected to said suction line, and a separator in said suctionline between said compressor intake and said pumping units for venting liquid therefrom while preventing the admission of air thereto.

3. In a displacement pumping system, a

z. plurality of displacement pumping units,

means for subjecting a portion of said units to pressure and the remainder to suction and vice versa including a fluid supply line and a suction line, means for precluding passage tanks for connecting one of each pair of said tanks to one of said lines and the other of each pair of said tanks to the other of said lines, for connecting said tanks of each pair together, and for connecting them in opposite relation to that first described, controlling means for said valve means including a servo-motor for the valve means of each pair including a movable element operatively connected to its valve means, and common means for supplying fluid to one end of all of said movable elements while venting the other, and vice versa, and also operative to interconnect the two sides of said elements.

5. In a displacement pump, a displacement tank having supply and discharge connections, check Valves controlling said connections, means for supplying and exhausting fluid relative to said tank, and means for supplying fluid under pressure to said check valves and to the bottom of said tank.

6. In combination, a displacement tank, a

pump, pressure and suction lines respectively connected with the pump discharge and pump intake, and means for selectively con- .necting said tank with said lines, said suction line being provided With a trap having means for automatically venting it at each connection of said tank to the suction line.

7. In combination, a displacement tank, a pump, pressure and suction lines respectively connected with the pump discharge and pump intake, and means for selectively connecting said tank with said lines, said suction line being provided with a trap having means cont-rolled by the pressure conditions in said trap for automatically venting the latter at each connection of said tank to the suction line.

8. In combination, a pair of displacement tanks, a pump having suction and discharge connections, and means for connecting one of said tanks with said suction connection and the other with the pump discharge, and vice versa, including means to prevent liquid beingcarried over from a displacement tank to the pump comprising means to prevent fiow of liquid from the tank towards the pump suction and means in the pump suction connect-ion for permitting automatic discharge of any liquid which might pass said last mentioned means. 3'

9. In combination, a displacement tank, a pump having suction and discharge connections, and means for connecting said tank alternatively with said suction connection and with said discharge connection including a plurality of means in series, one of which is in the suction connection, for preventing liquid being carried over from the displacement tank to the pump. I

10. In combination, a pair of displacement tanks, a pump having suction and discharge connections, and means for connecting one of said tanks with said suction connection and the other with the pump discharge and vice versa including a plurality of means in series, one of which is common to the operation of both tanks, for preventing liquid being carried over from the displacement tanks to the pump.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature;

JOHN OLIPHANT. 

